A comment on the atrocities in Gaza and Israel, the US DEI policy, and equality

This is a comment on the writings of Vitaliy Katsenelson, especially the one posted on January 12th, 2024. He wrote that DEI policy is woke and Israel needs to be saved from the atrocities in Gaza.

6 min readFeb 4, 2024

“If I could be you, if you could be me
For just one hour, if we could find a way
To get inside each other’s mind
If you could see you through my eyes
Instead your own ego I believe you’d be
I believe you’d be surprised to see
That you’ve been blind”

Walk a Mile in My Shoes, by Otis Clay 2007

Here is the link to Vitaliy Katsenelson’s post.

Dear Vitaliy,

You are right: to progress, we need to get out of our echo chamber and listen to opinions that differ, even if they make us uncomfortable. Your friend’s description of the IDF paints a rosy picture. However, what we’ve learned from the reporting of a few brave journalists, despite the Israeli government’s extensive effort to control the flow of truth through power and internet cutoffs, and the constant targeting and killings of journalists, reveals a bloody reality. The similarity between what your friends describe and the actual situation ends in color. It seems the IDF is employing the same strategy as the terrorists they’re trying to fight: causing maximum causalities and sheer terror.

It is understandable that living in our conformable homes thousands of miles away, we may not want to face the harsh and uncomfortable reality, but it exists. Such as the IDF using phosphorous bombs or the Israeli president, surrounded by elevated soldiers, signing a shell to be dropped. Most importantly, the IDF’s top soldier, Yoav Gallan, ordered the destruction of Gaza, referring to Palestinians as “human animals.” This is deeply troubling. This kind of behavior and the use of derogatory language are a prelude to ethnic cleansing and genocide, as we’ve learned from the Holocaust.

It is sad to witness the exacerbation of both antisemitism and Islamophobia in the US. I was shocked to learn that people had torn down posters of kidnappers, and deeply distressed by the news of the murder of a five-year-old Palestinian American boy named Wadea Al Fayoume in Illinois. I can’t imagine what kind of hate and emptiness would drive a 71-year-old man to stab a child 26 times!

Everything has a history, and it is a process, not a point in time; only in fairy tales does something “pop up” from nowhere. October 7th is neither the beginning nor the end of the sufferings of the Israelis and the Palestinians. It’s true that Jewish people need a home, and Israel exists to fulfill that. However, for Israel to prosper, it must respect history, just as it requires others to do. While Jewish people need a home in Israel, what about the non-Jewish people who have already been living there? Is it fair, as a state policy, that a Jewish guy like Baruch Goldstein from Brooklyn, who has never set foot in Israel, can just move there and live, while Palestinians who have been living there for generations have their lands and homes seized? Consider how you would feel and react if a group of Native Indians came knocking on your door to ask you to empty the house and leave, calming it’s their ancestral land. Additionally, It’s worth noting that close to one million Israelis hold dual citizenship, while none of the more than one million Palestinians (including those living under Israeli administration) have any, at least according to the US.

Human capacity to understand and empathize with other people’s experiences is limited to past experiences, which allows us to place ourselves in others’ shoes and consider their perspective. However, we humans also have a huge inertia to change, especially if doing so deprives us of our privileges. So it is not surprising to see some people complain about the DEI policy.

Consider a white man named James McConnell living in 1850 in Alabama. For him, enslaving black people, whipping, and raping them at will might seem the right thing to do. Taking away that right is so wrong and outrageous to him that he would start a war. In more recent memory, take a white man named Donald Sterling living in 1950s Los Angeles. He attends school and conducts business without competition from segregated and disenfranchised black people. Just a few decades later, it is unfair and infuriating for him that black people could reside in the same building, and enjoy the same games, and his kids had to compete against their black kids.

The abolition of slavery and overturning of Jim Crow laws did not result in equality overnight. People and institutions alike need time to acknowledge their past mistakes, reflect on whether their current everyday interactions and decisions are tainted with racial bias, and actively correct these. At the personal level, these are difficult and emotionally challenging and take time. Crying foul by some is understandable, but it needs to be done. I think the DEI initiative is just a small step for institutions to remind the public of past injustices to achieve true equality.

Equality means opportunities, which Black Americans have been deprived of for centuries, having inherited nothing from enslaved ancestors but liberty, now considered god-endowed. This is evident in NBA ownership, where close to 90% of owners are wealthy white individuals, who “own” players that are comprised of more than 70% of black people.

The Jewish people endured the Holocaust, and merely putting an end to it does not right the wrongs committed. Perpetrators must also be held accountable for their atrocity. In addition to apologies and remorse, there should be a financial cost for such wrongdoings. The German government recognized this and has been paying tens of billions to the Israeli government and Jewish NGOs as reparations. Similarly, the U.S. government should compensate the descendants of enslaved Black people and Native Indians for the historical atrocities they endured. However, given that many powerful politicians are the descendants of slave owners, there is a reluctance to address this issue properly. Instead, initiatives like the internal DEI policy and sugar-coated “foreign aid” to Africa have emerged.

Yes, America needs to be saved, but from warmongers and bellicose politicians advocating for their benefit and the pleasure of owners of Lockheed Martin and Elbit Systems. It also needs saving from CEOs with empty suits and silver-tongued politicians who enrich themselves at the expense of honest, hard-working, tax-paying Americans. So, kudos to the United Auto Workers and Starbucks Workers United for standing up! I hope teachers, nurses, and surgeons will also rise to demand their worth, which is more!

I’m neither Israeli nor Palestinian, no black no white, and therefore, I’m not sure if my opinion resonates with either side. Your writings suggest that your understanding of issues may be as deep as the Aral Sea. Integrity requires breaking out of one’s echo chamber beyond merely stating it. Growth demands one to diversify the source of information beyond just Dailywire and Fox News. I recommend following Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Twitter. He appears to be well-read in the history and culture of the region, offering an unapologetic and concise perspective on the ongoing conflict. Besides, he is currently in Beirut and perhaps has more “skin in the game” than most of us who are living thousands of miles away.

I also suggest exploring the writings of Prof. Oded Na’mam, a former IDF soldier turned conscientious philosopher at the University of Jerusalem. He has “skin in the game.” Last but not least, try to understand the daily challenges faced by the living, by following Christian pastors Mitri Raheb and Munther Issac, who live and work under the rubble in Palestine. They genuinely have a “soul in the game.”

I hope the atrocities end soon and I am sure that Israel will prosper because of large investments in science and technology, and, most importantly, because of teens like Tal Mitnick, writers such as Motti Lerner, and brave former IDF soldiers like Oded Na’mam who unafraid to speak up. I sincerely hope that Israel will one day become a true democratic and prosperous nation, not exclusively for white Jewish people but for all, including Christians and Muslims so that they don’t have to worry about being spat at or evicted from their homes.

Note: This response was written a month ago. Later, I learned that the same writing of Vitaliy Katsenelson was published (January 28th, 2024) in DailyWire, which was founded by the charming Ben Shapiro. If I had known this, I wouldn’t have bothered to write this response.

A comment on the atrocities in Gaza and Israel, the US DEI policy, and equality

This is a comment on the writings of Vitaliy Katsenelson, especially the one posted on January 12th, 2024. He wrote that DEI policy is woke and Israel needs to be saved from the atrocities in Gaza.

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